Two children injured in car fire

Two young children have been critically injured in a car fire in Gisborne.

Witnesses say the children, believed to be a two-year-old boy and his three-year-old sister, had been left alone in the vehicle about 4.30pm today in a carpark outside Super Cheap Autos on Gladstone Rd.

There was a small explosion and flash fire which produced clouds of black smoke, witnesses said.

Several bystanders rushed to the children's aid.

Mutu Ngarimu, who runs a business alongside the carpark, said he saw smoke coming from the vehicle. He grabbed a fire extinguisher from under his desk and ran to help.

Two men working across the road at the Firestone tyre store also saw the smoke and ran across the road.

They and Mr Ngarimu climbed into the back of the vehicle and pulled out the unconscious children.

Mr Mutu revived the boy while another man resuscitated the three-year-old girl.